Programme

Dmitri Shostakovich
Concerto for violin and orchestra No. 1 in A minor, op. 77

Interval

Igor Stravinsky
Le sacre du printemps

Cristian Măcelaru, Conductor

Leonidas Kavakos, Violine - Artist in Residence

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

Programme Booklet

Download Programme Booklet (in German)

A towering figure on today’s music scene, Leonidas Kavakos (b. 1967) studied violin in his native Athens and with Josef Gingold in the USA. Since then he has made solo appearances with the world’s finest orchestras, played chamber music with musicians of the calibre of Yuja Wang and Yo-Yo Ma and recently distinguished himself as a conductor. After two guest appearances with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, he is now returning for an entire season as artist-in-residence. He will perform three great violin concertos by Shostakovich, Beethoven and Alban Berg, conduct Beethoven’s Seventh and join forces with soloists from the Bavarian RSO in a reading of Beethoven’s Septet. The dark sound of his newly acquired “Willemotte” Stradivarius, built in 1734, will be displayed to full advantage in Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto no. 1, a stark and sombre work full of relentless drama and grim humour. Cristian Măcelaru will complete this all-Russian programme with a tour de force for virtuoso orchestra. And what a work it is: Stravinsky’s formerly scandalous Le sacre du printemps, now a well-established cult masterpiece of modern music.

Mariss Jansons is well on the road to recovery from a serious viral infection, but his doctors have advised him not to conduct the upcoming concerts in Munich in order not to jeopardize his return to full health. We are pleased to have Cristian Măcelaru for these two concerts in Munich on extremely short notice.

Further information about Mariss Jansons’ cancellation

Photos of Rehearsal and concert

Timpanist Raymond Curfs.

Natalie Schwaabe playing the flute.